A metal coping is used in dentistry in the construction of a dental crown and bridge. The metal coping functions as the understructure of the crown and is usually covered with a fired on coating of an acrylic or ceramic composition for the purpose of aesthetics. The metal coping supports the coating and provides the required structural strength and rigidity for the restored tooth to resist the forces of mastication.
A metal coping has recently been developed for constructing a porcelain to metal crown which can be formed without waxing, investing or casting. The coping is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,459,112 and 4,492,579, and is formed from a thin metal foil of two or more layers of metal arranged in a prefolded configuration with a plurality of foldable sections. The metal foil is mounted over a die of the preferred tooth to be restored and the foldable sections are folded over in an overlapping relationship until the foil is tightly wrapped around the die. The coping is then adapted to the die preferably by swaging. Upon removal from the die, the coping is heat treated which sinters the overlapping folds to one another to form a unitary mass of substantially increased strength and rigidity relative to the metal foil in its unfolded state.